


How You Bring Joy to Life

by DecadentCollectionDestiny



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Competition, Confessions, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Lovers, I'm Bad At Titles, Love Confessions, M/M, Mementos (Persona 5), Metaverse (Persona 5), POV Akechi Goro, POV Alternating, POV Persona 5 Protagonist, POV Third Person, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Rivalry, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Symbolism, Titled Another Fic With A Song Lyric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26823400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DecadentCollectionDestiny/pseuds/DecadentCollectionDestiny
Summary: In a world where Persona users who are soulmates can summon each other's Personas, Akira summons Loki in Sae's Palace, much to Akechi's shock. Tension grows and emotions swirl as Akechi debates whether his deepest self is truly lovable and Akira tries to come to terms with the idea that the person he's in love with is not his soulmate.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 17
Kudos: 163





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rated T for language. Inspired by @unfunny-quips and @soft-shuake on Tumblr.

“Oof!” Akira grunted as he hit the floor of the arena, having barely withstood a brutal attack from the massive, hulking Thunder Emperor that stood before him. His ears rang as the pain reverberated through his skull, but through the high-pitched whine, he could make out the distinct voices of his teammates yelling from the stands.  
“C’mooooon, Joker!” “You’re almost there!” “You got this!” “Don’t give up!” “Go, Joker, go!” “You can do it!”  
Akira groggily picked up his head. He couldn’t lose now. This arena battle was their only chance to get the coins they needed to cross that bridge, and then they’d be one step closer to Sae Niijima’s Treasure.  
He looked up and scanned the stands for his teammates, hoping… was he?  
He wasn’t. Akechi was sitting silently behind the Phantom Thieves, arms crossed, watching the battle intently. But when he met his glance, Akira saw him smile slightly behind his mask and flash him the thumbs up.  
Akira smiled back and shakily got to his feet. “Looks like the leader of the Phantom Dweebs still hasn’t had enough!” the announcer boomed. “But how much longer will he last? Looks like the crowd thinks: not very long!”  
The Thunder Emperor pulled back his fist for another attack. Taking a deep breath and mustering all of his remaining strength, Akira yelled “Persona!” as his mask vanished from his face.  
However, the Persona that appeared was not the one Akira had intended to summon, but one with long arms and legs, a black and white stripe pattern all over his body, and a glowing red sword on his back.  
Akira sighed in relief. _Nice timing, Loki._

With the powerful Loki by his side, Akira quickly made short work of the Shadow and soon the Phantom Thieves were collecting their reward of 100,000 coins.  
“Ohhh shitttttt!” exclaimed Ryuji. “That was freakin’ amazin’, Joker!” Akira returned his high five and grin.  
“You were incredible!” said Ann. “They never even planned on giving you a fair fight in there.”  
“Ah, yes,” said Akechi, a puzzled look on his face. “Quite impressive. By the way, Joker, that last Persona… I’ve never seen it before. Did you… acquire it recently or…?”  
“Oh yeah,” said Futaba. “I guess we never mentioned that, huh?”  
“As far as we can figure, that’s Joker’s soulmate’s Persona,” continued Morgana.  
“What?”  
“Our best guess is that in Joker’s most desperate hour of need, he is able to borrow his soulmate’s Persona to help him,” explained Haru. “It’s really quite romantic, isn’t it?”  
Akira laughed quietly to himself, trying not to let the disappointment that was resurfacing show on his face. Truth be told, when he had discovered that Akechi was a Persona user like himself, he had been secretly hoping that his Persona would be Loki, making them soulmates. Akechi was handsome, no doubt about that. Charming, intelligent, hard-working, and witty to boot. And yet… there was something else to him. Something Akira just couldn’t quite put his finger on. It made him feel drawn to him, inexplicably and irresistibly, by pure wonder and intrigue. It was the same feeling Akechi described having towards him, although who knew if he meant it in the way that Akira did? All Akira knew was that he had feelings for Akechi Goro. He had for a while, and knew he would far into the future.  
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that Akechi’s Persona wasn’t Loki, but Robin Hood. Fitting for the so-called Detective Prince, Akira supposed. His soulmate must be somebody else, some other person he didn’t even know existed, and who probably didn’t know he existed either.  
“It also means that Joker’s soulmate is a Persona user as well,” Yusuke added. “It makes one wonder how many of them there truly are. I was not under the impression that there were that many…”  
“Me neither,” Makoto agreed. “But I guess there are at least a few out there that we don’t know about.”  
“Oh, well,” Akira shrugged. “I hope Arsène’s helping whoever my soulmate is.”  
Akechi scoffed. “Honestly. Soulmates? You’re telling me you really believe in those?”  
“Well, I didn’t used to, but there isn’t really any other explanation for how I can summon Loki,” Akira replied, remembering how Caroline and Justine had told him about this phenomenon shortly after he had awoken to his Persona. He had immediately gone and talked it over with the rest of the Phantom Thieves - leaving out the part about the twins. They all agreed that the idea made sense, but nobody had really believed it was possible, not even Akira - until he and his teammates were cornered and nearly killed by strong Shadows in Kaneshiro’s Palace and Akira summoned Loki for the first time. Since then, Loki had saved the lives of the Phantom Thieves a number of times, and for that Akira was very grateful to whomever the Persona belonged to.  
“Yeah, it all adds up to me,” Morgana asserted. “And as we all know, I’m the resident expert on these things.”  
“Like hell you are!” Ryuji snapped.  
“Hm. Interesting. Anyway...” Akechi pulled on the fingers of his right glove. “Come now, we should head to the bridge. This shall be our moment to shine.” And with that, he turned smartly on his heel and started walking in the direction of the bridge, his red cape flowing behind him.  
Akira watched his receding back for a few moments, then blinked hard and started after him, nodding for the rest of the team to follow.  
He had a job to do, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

No. No. No. It was impossible. Someone got it wrong. There was a mistake. It wasn’t true. No. No.  
There was no way Kurusu Akira was his soulmate.  
Goro unlocked the door of his apartment, slipped off his shoes, and dropped his briefcase on the table.   
“I’m home,” he said to nobody.  
He made his way into his bedroom and sat down heavily on the bed. It had been a long day in the Metaverse, but he was more exhausted mentally than physically, from trying to keep all the thoughts swirling around inside him off his mind and off his face.  
He knew the soulmate phenomenon was true. He distinctly remembered hearing it from those two little girls in the Velvet Room. He had almost forgotten about it until now.  
“Since Personas are an extension of the heart,” Justine had said, “there is one situation in which one could summon a Persona that does not belong to them. In the most rare of circumstances, usually in cases of mortal danger, it is possible for one to call upon the Persona of the one their heart is connected to.”  
“The one their heart is connected to?” Goro had asked, confused.  
“Yes,” Justine had replied. “I believe you humans would call it... a soulmate. Since the two hearts are connected, the physical manifestations of the hearts are as well.”  
“But don’t rely on it!” Caroline had barked. “There’s no guarantee you even have a soulmate, so don’t go putting yourself in danger willy-nilly and expecting your soulmate’s Persona to come save you!”  
Goro had rolled his eyes. “I’ve no time for such nonsense,” he had said, though the remark about him possibly not having a soulmate had stung just a bit.  
Goro’s phone buzzing in his pocket brought his mind back to the present. A new notification on the Phantom Thieves’ group chat. He blinked a few times, trying to get his brain back into Crow mode.  
It was a message from Okumura. “We’ve finally made it,” she said. “All that remains is to actually send the calling card.”  
“Looks like we’ll manage to get it out before that investigation starts going down too,” said Sakamoto.  
Goro said nothing yet, just sat and watched the messages roll in as he usually did. It was always interesting to watch the Phantom Thieves interact with each other privately, discussing thief business.   
“We still don’t know anything about the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns though…” Sakura puzzled.   
“I wonder if we’ll learn anything from Niijima-san’s Shadow,” posed Takamaki.  
“I doubt she has ascertained any relevant clues,” said Kitagawa.  
“I agree,” Goro typed. It was the truth. He knew Sae hadn’t even fathomed that she knew the perpetrator of the mental shutdowns personally. “That is why she has the warrant out on the Phantom Thieves, after all.”  
“Furthermore, the public believes arresting us will solve the case,” said Niijima. “The public prosecutors won’t stop now. They have the weight of the general public on their shoulders.”  
“If only we knew who the true culprit was, we wouldn’t have to fight Niijima-san’s Shadow…” said Okumura. “Who could it be…? Do you think it’s someone we know?”  
Goro felt himself tense involuntarily. Did anyone suspect him? Did _he_ suspect him?  
“I doubt that,” came Akira’s reply.  
Goro knew he should feel relieved, but instead he was… surprised. His heart began to beat faster in spite of himself. Akira didn’t think he knew the culprit? He… really trusted him that much? How highly did he think of him? Or did he suspect him after all and was just saying that, to keep him in the dark?  
Goro cursed himself for getting so worked up.  
“I want to believe that myself, but that might be a little too hopeful…” Takamaki said.  
“Either way, we only have one opportunity to turn the tables,” said Niijima.  
“This final calling card shall be my magnum opus,” declared Kitagawa. “Simply let us know when you’re ready, Akira.”  
And the conversation was over.  
Goro exhaled and slipped his phone back into his pocket. But it wasn’t long before the thoughts came bubbling up once again.  
Akira could summon Loki.  
Anxiety began to roll up into a dense, heavy ball inside of him. Was there a possibility that he knew Loki was Goro’s Persona? No. Definitely not. Goro was sure that as far as Akira knew, he was the only one who could summon multiple Personas. And who would ever guess that flashy, heroic, Robin Hood and cunning, deceitful Loki belonged to the same person?  
It wasn’t a guarantee that they were soulmates anyway. Akira was a wild card, for heaven’s sake. Summoning Personas that weren’t his was his whole gimmick. It was just a coincidence that he and Goro both happened to be able to summon Loki.  
Goro sighed and leaned back on his hands. Loki! It would be one thing if it was Robin Hood that Akira could summon, but Loki? That ruthless, bloodthirsty being that had lurked just beneath the surface of the Detective Prince everyone knew and adored since the beginning? Who was supposed to love that? Akira? Fascinating, infuriating, perfect, worthless, special little Akira? Would he? Could he?  
Did he?  
 _God damn it!_ Goro yanked off his gloves and threw them onto the bedside table. This wasn’t worth his energy. Akira wasn’t worth his energy.  
The fact that he occupied so much of it wasn’t _Goro’s_ fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's play "Spot the Symbolism!" There's been two examples of it so far. There'll be more later. Can you find it?


	3. Chapter 3

“Arrgh, you got me again!” Ryuji groaned as “Victory: Player Two” flashed on the screen of the Gun About machine. Normally, on a free day with the route to the Treasure secured, Akira would have started making plans to send the calling card, but since the group had decided to wait until the day before the deadline to spring into action, that left them with almost two whole weeks of free time. And so Akira and Ryuji had spent the afternoon at the arcade in Shibuya, duking it out in Gun About.  
“How’re you so good at this, dude?” Ryuji asked incredulously.   
Akira laughed. “Practice, practice, practice, my friend.” He fed the machine some more coins for another round. “And knowing the King of the Gun About world personally.”  
Ryuji shook his fist at Akira in mock antagonism. “I swear, I’ll get you sooner or later.”  
“Give it a rest, Ryuji.” Morgana stuck his head out of Akira’s bag on the floor next to the machine to interject his opinion. “Akira has you beat, like, twelve games to your three.”  
“Shaddup!”  
“Wait, seriously?” Akira asked. “We’ve been playing that long?” He looked out the window for the first time in what must have been several hours and saw that the sun was going down and the Central Street of Shibuya was starting to darken.  
“Yeah, guess so,” Ryuji agreed. “Whatcha up for after this? Ready to head home, or you wanna grab somethin’ to eat, or-”  
Ryuji was interrupted by Akira’s phone buzzing in his pocket. He reached in and pulled it out.  
His heart jumped when he saw it was from Akechi, like it always did.  
“I find myself with a rare bit of free time this evening,” he said. “I’m in Kichijoji right now. If you’re not doing anything, would you care to spend some time together?”  
Ryuji leaned over Akira’s shoulder. “Whatcha lookin’ at?”  
“Oh, uh, nothing,” said Akira, hastily shoving his phone back into his pocket. “Just - uh - text from Akechi.”  
Ryuji rolled his eyes. “Ugh, that bastard. What’s he want?”  
“He - just wanted to see if I was doing anything and if I wanted to hang out.”  
“Really?” Ryuji raised an eyebrow. “You gonna take him up on it?”  
“Uhh…” Akira twisted at a strand of his hair. “…Mmmaybe?”  
“You’re not slick, dude,” Ryuji deadpanned.  
“Yeah,” Morgana agreed. “I could smell that out from a mile away.”  
Akira sighed. “Look, it’s not a big deal. I just want to -” he shrugged. “Hang out.”  
“You do that a lot, huh?” Ryuji asked. “I ‘member I asked you to check out that new movie in Shinjuku with me last week and you said you were busy playin’ billiards or some shit with him.”  
“Sounds like Ryuji’s jeeeeealous,” Morgana teased.   
“No way am I freakin’ jealous!” Ryuji snapped. “I’m just wonderin’... why do you even hang out with that guy, man?”  
“I’m actually curious about that too,” said Morgana. “Why… why him?”  
Akira pushed up his glasses. “Well,” he began, choosing his words very carefully. “It might not seem like it to you guys, but he and I actually have a lot in common.”  
“For real?”  
“Yeah. He’s said several times that we’re very similar, and I agree. When we first started hanging out, we were just discussing our opinions on the Phantom Thieves, but now...”  
Now he looked forward to every single second he spent with him. Now he knew there were things about the pleasant, charismatic boy that he didn’t show to the cameras. Now their “discussions” felt less like a theoretical, transactional experiment of thesis versus antithesis and more like an old and familiar routine that was so inescapably easy to fall into, like an comfy, worn-in armchair at the end of a long day. Now it seemed like all he could think about sometimes was how much he wanted to look deep inside and know Akechi Goro.  
Akira shook his head. “I don’t know, I just… really like spending time with him.”  
“Alright, man…” said Ryuji. He bit his lip. “Just… y’know. Be careful. You know what he’s-”  
“Yeah,” Akira interrupted him, his gaze dropping to the floor slightly. “Yeah, I know.”  
Ryuji nodded, then brightened up and grinned his signature grin. “Hey, we still got one more game to play! I’m gonna beat your ass this time!”  
“Doubt it,” Akira smirked as they both picked up their gun controllers.  
After an Academy Award-worthy performance and several dozen “I told ya!”s, Akira said goodbye to an exuberant Ryuji, who waved cheerfully back and headed out the door and down the street towards the train station.  
As soon as he was out of sight, Akira pulled his phone back out of his pocket. “Sounds great,” he typed in response to Akechi’s text. “I’m heading your way.”   
“Understood,” came Akechi’s prompt reply. “I’ll be waiting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* Ryuji's a little jealous.
> 
> Next chapter's a bit of a longer one, so get ready for that.


	4. Chapter 4

Goro had never been more on edge before an outing with Akira. It was probably due to the fact that he had an ulterior motive for this one. It was unusual that, when it came to his excursions with Akira, _not_ having one was the norm for him, but that was what they had come to be. No hidden agendas, no goals to achieve, just the two of them and their conversation.  
He supposed that was why he looked forward so to their outings, and why time always seemed to pass too quickly whenever they were together. What he’d said to Akira many times before was true, he’d never met someone with whom he could speak so effortlessly and freely before. After all, he thought to himself, they were soulmates, supposedly.  
_Supposedly!_ Supposedly. Goro slid his hand out of his glove and wiped the sweat off on his pants. Regardless of whether or not they were actually soulmates, there was something that Goro knew for certain was true, but he still needed to prove. If all of his experience as a detective had taught him anything, it was that he needed evidence if he was going to claim anything, even to himself. That was what he was here to do, the reason why he’d asked Akira to hang out with him today.  
Well, at least part of the reason why.  
“Akechi!” Goro looked up to see Akira walking towards him, a smile on his face. Goro immediately put on his usual smile as well.  
“Good evening, Akira.”  
“Oh, we’re here?” came Morgana’s voice from inside Akira’s bag. He wriggled his way out and dropped to the ground. “I’ll be wandering around, then. Let me know when you’re ready to head home.”  
“Will do,” Akira nodded as Morgana headed off down the street at a light trot.  
Goro shook his head. “I shall never grow accustomed to hearing a cat speak.”  
Akira laughed. “So, what do you want to do?” He brushed his long bangs away from his face and met Goro’s eyes. “Anything in particular you had in mind?”  
“I thought I’d let you decide,” Goro said. “What would you like to do?”  
“Hmm…” Akira’s grey eyes roamed around in thought behind his glasses before coming to rest. He nodded his head towards Penguin Sniper behind the two of them. “How about a game? Darts this time?” Akira reached up and adjusted his glasses. “What do you say? Competing all the time gets tiring, don’t you think?”  
Goro gritted his teeth behind his smiling lips. Didn’t he know it. But unlike Akira, he couldn’t just decide to stop anytime he felt like it.  
“Alright then,” he said. “Darts it is.” He gestured towards the stairs to the front door of the lounge. “After you.”  
Before too long, they were set up at the darts machine. “Okay then, shall we?” Goro began. “I’m all prepared on my end. Let’s play 701.” He smiled at Akira. “I trust you don’t have a problem with that?”  
Akira shook his head. “Not at all. I’m sure we can do it.”  
“Mm hm. You can go first,” Goro said curtly.  
“Alright then.” Akira stepped up to the dartboard and began to take aim. “So, how was your day today?”  
The question both annoyed and pleased Goro at the same time. “Not bad,” he replied coolly. “Fairly average, all things considered.” Akira’s first dart hit solidly within the double twenty-point zone.  
Goro’s gaze swept across the room. It was a weeknight, and they were the only ones there. The manager was engrossed in some task behind the front desk, and the music playing in the lounge would ensure that no conversation would be overheard by him. “Although there is one thing I couldn’t seem to get off my mind.”  
“Oh? What’s that?” Akira drew his hand back to aim his second dart.  
“I just kept thinking about how interesting it is that you can summon your alleged soulmate’s Persona.”  
Akira started and looked hastily around the room, then seemed to come to the same conclusion Goro had and relaxed. “I don’t think it’s just a me thing.” He threw his second dart. It hit the double 20 again, and he nodded in satisfaction. “It can probably happen to every Persona user.”  
“Except those without a soulmate,” Akechi pointed out.  
Akira smiled and shook his head. “I think everybody has a soulmate. Let’s see if I can...” Akira let fly his third dart and made a sound of disappointment when it hit just above the bulls-eye. “Ahh, almost,” he sighed.  
Goro tsk tsked. “I’m up next then.” He high-fived Akira and stepped up to the line. He took careful aim at the board. “Regardless, it is very intriguing.”  
Goro could still see Akira out of the corner of his eye, even though he tried to tune him out. “Yeah, it is,” he nodded. “I just wonder who they could be.”  
Goro hit the bulls-eye square in the middle, and he smiled triumphantly to himself. “Nice one!” Akira grinned. Goro ignored him.  
“Do you think you’ve met them?”  
Akira thought for a moment. “I hoped I had…” he said slowly. “But I probably haven’t. If I have, I don’t know that they’re a Persona user.”  
“Hm.” Now was the time to ask the question Goro had been waiting for the opportune moment to pose. He aimed and threw his second dart. Another bulls-eye. “I’m interested to know what you think of this person who is supposedly your soulmate. What kind of person do you think they are, knowing their Persona?”  
“Hmm…” Akira puzzled. “That’s a good question. I suppose they’re someone who’s been through a lot, but became stronger because of it.”  
Goro’s hand tensed, and he flung his dart at the board. “What do you know. A Hat Trick,” he said nonchalantly.  
“Good job! My turn now.” They high-fived and swapped places.  
“Anyway, what makes you say that?” Goro asked.  
“Well,” Akira began, his aiming hand moving back and forth. “Loki _is_ very powerful.” He laughed. “I’d hate to be on the opposite side of him in a fight, that’s for sure. It just seems like he had to go through a lot to earn his power, you know what I mean? That’s just the feeling I get from him.” He threw the dart, which hit the bulls-eye. “Hey, look at that!” he cheered.  
Goro smiled and nodded. “Not bad.”  
““Loki is the Norse trickster god, so the person is probably also intelligent and clever,” Akira continued, throwing a second bulls-eye. “Not unlike my own Arsène, the Gentleman Thief.”  
“Mm hm…”  
“And since they have a Persona at all, they must be very strong-willed and willing to fight for what’s right.”  
“That’s interesting that you say that.”  
Akira threw his last dart, scoring another 50 points. “Alright! I got three in a row too.”  
Goro clenched his fist in his pocket. “Nice comeback. Looks like it’s my last round now.” Akira high-fived him and handed off his position.  
“Interesting, you said?” Akira asked as Goro took aim. “Do you think differently?”  
Goro did his best to steady his hand. “Well,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “I can’t say for certain since I haven’t had as much experience with him as you have.” He threw the dart, which hit the board right in the triple twenty space. He grinned inwardly. _Take that!_  
“But from what I’ve seen of this Loki,” he continued, taking up his second dart. “It seems like his user would be extremely different from you. From looking at him, I got a feeling of… malintent. Like you said, Loki is a trickster god. You said intelligent and clever, but… he appears more cunning and twisted to me.” The second dart hit the triple twenty. “His user seems like someone who is not to be trusted or associated with. That is what I think.”  
There was silence for a moment. “I have to disagree,” Akira said finally.  
Goro lowered the hand that was aiming his final dart. “Pardon?” he asked, still staring at the dartboard.  
“I do see where you’re coming from - and this is all pure speculation, of course - but I don’t at all think that they’re not to be associated with.” Goro looked over at Akira, who pushed up his glasses in thought. “Maybe they _feel_ like they’re too malicious or cunning or twisted to be worthy of trust, or love…” He smiled. “But, if they’re my soulmate, I’ll love them no matter what.”  
Goro had to use all of his might to keep a strangled croak from escaping his throat. His fingers tightened around the dart in his hand and his pulse began to race. “I see. How romantic.”  
Goro didn’t see Akira’s reaction to what he said as he managed to reel his attention back to the dartboard. He raised his hand and took a deep breath to steady himself, but his heart was still beating a mile a minute inside his chest. _He’s wrong! He’s wrong! He’s wrong!_ echoed in his head over and over again. _He could never! He WOULD never!_ Goro hurled the dart at the board - and it stuck into the one point bed, ruining the ton 80 he had been going for.  
“Aw, so close!” Akira groaned.  
Goro cursed silently. “I think my glove got in the way that time. They can make it harder to throw sometimes. I should have taken it off.”  
“Still, that was really good. Too bad about that last one.”  
Goro pursed his lips. “Yes, well. You can’t win them all, I suppose.”  
“It’s not over yet. I’ve still got one more round to go.” Akira peered at the scoreboard. “I’m going to have to get a ton 80 to be able to close this out.” He held up his hand. “Wish me luck?”  
_If you make it, I swear to God -_ Goro slapped his raised hand. “Good luck. Let’s see how you do.”  
Akira took the darts in his hand and stepped up to the board. Goro leaned against the counter behind him and crossed his arms, watching.  
He saw him stare intently at the board, take a deep breath, and throw the darts, one by one, in complete silence.  
Sixty… sixty… sixty.  
“Yes!” Akira exclaimed as the electronic victory jingle sounded. “We did it! 701 on the dot!”  
The pressure inside Goro’s head was almost unbearable. “Well done,” he said smoothly.  
“You too!” Akira returned, beaming. He removed the darts from the board and held them out to Goro. “Do you want to go again? You can go first this time.”  
“Sure,” Goro nodded. He took the darts from Akira’s outstretched palm and took his position. Could Akira hear Goro’s heart still pounding? His teeth grinding together as he tried in vain to loosen up? The metaphorical steam whistling out of his ears?  
“This time, I’m taking off my gloves.”

The two continued playing, never losing a game, and their usual conversation picked back up again. As time went by, Goro’s anger slowly but surely slipped away without him even realizing it. Akira’s deep voice and bright smile smoothed over all the rough patches, like a gentle hand over the fur of a frightened cat, and Goro entirely forgot that he had been angry with him. The end of the evening met Goro with disappointment, as it always did when he was spending time with Akira.  
“Thank you for inviting me out tonight,” Akira said as he and Goro stood outside Penguin Sniper. “I had a lot of fun.”  
“Thank _you_ for picking darts,” Goro replied. He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “It was quite enjoyable for me as well.”  
Akira chuckled. “It’s a little weird seeing you without your gloves on,” he remarked. “I rarely ever see you without them, so I’ve gotten used to seeing you wear them all the time.”  
Goro raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well then…” He reached into his pockets and pulled his gloves back on. “There. Is that better?”  
Akira smiled. “Much.”  
Goro smiled back. _So this is what having a soulmate is like,_ he thought to himself.  
_Soulmate._ The word startled himself out of his pleasant reverie and reminded him of the reality of his situation. Everything he showed Akira was a lie. _That_ was what Akira liked and wanted to spend time with. _Remember that, Goro._ He felt a ripple of indignation pass through him and he stiffened and cleared his throat.  
“It’s getting quite late,” he said sharply. “We ought to call it a night.”  
“Yes,” Akira agreed. “I’d better go find that cat and start heading home.” He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and brushed his long dark bangs out of his eyes. “I’ll see you next time then?”  
Goro forced a smile onto his face and nodded. “Next time.” _Next time, when I’ll finally be facing you with all my ability._ How satisfying that would be, especially given his current mood. “Goodbye for now.”  
“Goodnight, Akechi.” With a final soft smile, Akira turned and began walking down the street, looking this way and that along the sidewalks and into the alleyways. Goro watched as he crouched down in front of one, picked up a black lump, and placed it in his bag. Then, as if feeling Goro’s eyes on him, he turned around, looked back at him, and waved.  
Goro waved back, clenching his jaw invisibly.  
_He could never. He would never. He will never.  
He does not._


	5. Chapter 5

Akira smiled to himself on the train home that night. Hanging out with Akechi never got old. Never.  
Akira wasn’t the biggest talker. When he was with his fellow Phantom Thieves, he usually let them do most of the talking, chiming in occasionally to make a suggestion, answer a question, or crack a joke, but most of the time remaining silent. Even when he was alone with just one of them, he usually took the backseat when it came to conversation.  
Not with Akechi. If the rest of Akira’s friends could see how much he talked when he was around Akechi, they might question whether their leader had been kidnapped and replaced with an ultra-talkative imposter.  
Akira could talk about almost anything with Akechi. And he did. Akechi made Akira think, about anything and everything. Their differences and similarities in opinions and values wove together so inexplicably that it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to want to explore every single aspect of their personalities together. Dig deeper, find out more - about both Akechi and himself. That was what always happened whenever they were together, whether Akira planned it or not. And it was addicting.  
If there was one person Akira would be willing to bare everything to, to allow to, and even encourage to examine every single particle of his being, every single thought in his mind, and every single emotion in his heart, it was Akechi Goro.  
Akira had forgotten Morgana was leaning on his shoulder. “Now what are you so smiley about?” he asked.  
“Oh,” Akira said, trying to hide how much Morgana’s question had caught him off guard. “Nothing. Just remembering something funny Yusuke said.”  
He tried to wipe the smile off his face, but it was always hard to get it to go away after spending time with Akechi.  
The fact that that smile of his made Akira want to kiss him on the spot every single time he saw it didn’t help either.

It was nighttime, a few days after he and Akechi had played darts. Akira had left Morgana to his own devices and now found himself wandering around Kichijoji, wondering what to do with his spare time. He had picked up a Chinese dumpling and was just strolling and munching. Maybe he’d go meditate at the temple, maybe he’d invite someone to the jazz club, or maybe he’d get lucky and run into-  
“Ah, just who I was hoping to see,” said a familiar voice. Akira turned his head and a smile spread across his face.  
“Hi, Akechi.”  
Akechi stood in front of him, briefcase in hand. “Good evening, Akira. I was just about to message you.”  
“You were?”  
“Yes,” Akechi said. “Do you have time? I want to talk to you about something…” He rubbed his chin. “It’d be best if we went somewhere where there aren’t many people around. How about, let’s say, Mementos?”  
“Mementos?” Akira asked, taken aback. “Why?”  
“Let’s just say… Nobody can get in our way there,” Akechi replied slowly.  
What did Akechi have to talk to him about that he had to go to Mementos to say? Akira had no idea. But he wasn’t about to let anything Akechi felt like he needed to say go unsaid. “Alright then,” he agreed.  
“Then let’s head to Shibuya,” said Akechi, and the two started off.  
They rode the subway from Kichijoji to Shibuya in relative silence, with Akira stealing glances at Akechi’s face every few minutes.  
Akechi was staring at the floor of the train, his face completely blank, his grip on his briefcase handle and the handrail above him tightening and loosening, tightening and loosening.  
Whatever was on his mind had to have been serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a shortie. Hope you don't mind.


	6. Chapter 6

Before long, they were in Mementos. Goro led Akira to an open area, free of Shadows, and stopped in the dead center of it.  
“Well,” he said, his back to Akira. “This place should do nicely.”  
“What’d you want to discuss?” Akira asked.  
Goro turned around, managing not to let the smile twitching at the corners of his mouth slip through. “This.”  
Goro pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at Akira’s chest.  
Akira’s jaw dropped.  
“Remember what I told you?” Akechi asked, relishing the look of shock on Akira’s face. “If you ever won against me with my right hand, I’d take you on with everything I’ve got.”  
“I… I…” Akira stammered, his eyes round as saucers. “I thought you meant in pool.”  
“That wasn’t enough to satisfy me,” Goro almost growled. “It’s your own fault though… Your insight allowing you to determine my dominant hand, your quick wit, and most of all, how fast you’ve grown… You’ve exceeded my expectations in every way.” Saying these things out loud, putting them into words, made them more concrete in his brain, and Goro could feel himself getting hot. Akira had sure exceeded his expectations, alright. And now it was time for him to catch back up. “Thus, I’ve built up this urge to duel you without holding anything back.”  
Why was Akira still so aghast? It wasn’t that hard to understand. “I… I don’t want to hurt you,” Akira finally managed to spit out.  
Goro tightened his grip on the gun. _Really? You think I’ll be that easy to beat? You’re not even at all worried that I’LL be the one kicking YOUR ass?_  
“Come on now,” he wheedled. “We promised we’d always push each other to the limit, didn’t we?”  
“This isn’t what I meant,” Akira replied. “I didn’t know this was what you had in mind.” There was a franticness to his voice, as if he was desperately trying to convince Goro not to go through with this. “I don’t want to fight you.”  
_“Because I’ll win and then you’ll feel bad.”_ That’s what Goro heard. If there was one thing Goro hated, it was being pitied. And _especially_ by Akira. He shook his head. “I’m disappointed in you,” he said. “It’s your fault this itch has been building up inside me. The least you could do is satisfy it.”  
That got him. Goro could see Akira’s resolve crumbling. “…Alright,” he finally said.  
Goro withdrew the gun and put his usual smile back on. “Thank you for indulging my selfish request. No need for pleasantries at this point, correct?”  
Goro allowed the pleasant look to drop off his face, revealing, if only for a split second, the confident, yet battle-ready expression that always arose before a battle he was positive he would win. “Let’s go!” he barked, and he saw Akira snap into his fighting stance.  
And the fight began.  
“You won’t be able to defeat me unless you actually fight with lethal intent,” Goro said as they faced each other, weapons drawn. “Now, show me your true skills.” He spoke with conviction, hoping Akira would believe that that was all he intended to gain from this, knowledge of what he was capable of. But Goro had already seen enough to know that. It was no secret that Akira was the strongest of the Phantom Thieves. He was a jack-of-all-trades. It seemed to Goro that he was sometimes weighed down by his teammates, forced to waste his time and energy baton passing and healing and buffing, but even so, he excelled. And even when Akira was on his own, like in the arena, he held his own and emerged victorious every time, regardless of the size or number of enemies. But during all this, Goro had stood next to Akira. Until now. Now he faced him. It was time to finally prove who was stronger. And then that nagging feeling in his chest would be gone.  
Goro let Akira go first, and he could tell he felt out of his element. Although he was good at it, Akira wasn’t accustomed to fighting alone. Goro was. He’d been doing it all his life. Another front where he had Akira beat.  
The first attack came, and it hurt. But Goro welcomed it. He had been itching to take every attack Akira threw at him and return it with everything he had. Maximum power. All out. One hundred percent. Goro would blast him out of the water, and then he would be able to get on with his life, get on with his plan, without having to concern himself with this heartfelt, aggravating, scruffy-haired boy who lived in an attic. Just as soon as he proved that he was strong and Akira was weak. That he was important and Akira was worthless.  
Goro launched his strongest attacks at Akira, and Akira did the same. The pain stung in his chest and throbbed in his head, but he kept going, every time standing up straight without batting an eye and hurling another attack, stronger than the one before.  
This fight wasn’t conventional in the slightest. There was nothing tactical about it, no strategy whatsoever. No breaks to regenerate energy, no worrying about weak spots to exploit, status effects to inflict, or stats to manipulate, just blow after blow after blow after blow, one after the other, over and over again until one of them fell down.  
So why wasn’t Akira on the ground already?  
He was still standing, unshaken, as if the fight had just begun. No sign of him giving up, no indication of exhaustion - except for his face. He looked tired, but not physically so. His eyes were soft behind his mask, as if he was begging for the fight to stop, but neither out of charity for Goro’s ego nor preservation for his own physical well-being. Those big grey eyes and the gentle, downturned mouth almost made Goro want to stop too, put down his sword, take off his mask, and sit down with Akira on the floor of Mementos.  
But that feeling didn’t last long. Anger began to bubble up inside him once again as he caught himself. _Stop it! No time to get distracted, Goro. This is exactly why you’re doing this._  
“Nice…” he snarled. “How fascinating.” How fascinating that Akira would think that Goro would ever stop before he had won. A smile crept onto his face as his pulse began to accelerate, not his typical charming one, but a sneer that usually only ever saw the light of day when Goro was wearing his black mask. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of that side of him. Without Loki, he wouldn’t be where he was today, closing in on his goal. But Loki wasn’t what the world wanted to see. So he kept him hidden, and the only ones who saw him were the ones who met their ends at Goro’s hands. That was how it had to be. But it didn’t mean a little bit of him couldn’t escape, discreetly, from time to time.  
Goro could tell that Akira was taken aback at his sudden change in tone, but he didn’t care. He used all the power within him and his strongest attacks to strike Akira. And then he did it again. And again. And again. To no avail.  
The sight of Robin Hood began to infuriate Goro as he grew frustrated, summoning him over and over again to attack Akira at full force. It reminded him that this was what Akira saw of him. Not the real Goro that hid underneath, the one Loki belonged to, the one that was impossible for anyone to love, not even the one person who was meant to. He, Robin Hood, the Detective Prince, this lie, was all of him that anyone would ever love. Not even him. _It’s impossible. Impossible. Impossible,_ echoed in Goro’s mind with each blow he dealt or received. _So just give up now. Give up now. Give up now._  
Goro began to breathe hard. Akira’s blows were starting to hurt more and more. His head was becoming fuzzy and his muscles were screaming at him. Still, he pushed out every last drop of energy within him with each and every attack. He was running on fumes at this point. He didn’t care. Knocking down the courageous, handsome, oh-so-powerful leader of the Phantom Thieves and rubbing the victory in his face would make it all worth it. He just had to-  
An attack from Akira caught him off guard. The blow connected with his head and Goro swayed, willing himself to maintain his balance, but his muscles gave in and he collapsed to the floor of Mementos with a grunt of pain. He sat there for a few moments in silence. Finally, he laughed weakly. “Haha… This was not expected.”  
Akira had always had a nasty habit of throwing wrenches into his plans.  
Akira crossed the floor toward him and held out a hand. “Are you okay?”  
Goro had to resist the urge to slap his hand away as hard as he could. He instead ignored it, sighing and shakily picking himself back up. “No wonder you’re the leader of the Phantom Thieves,” he said bitterly. “You’ve caught up to me on this front already, too…”  
“Are you satisfied?”  
Goro wanted to spit. “Of course not. But, if we went any further, we’d both go beyond the point of no return, wouldn’t we?” He slashed the air with his energy sword, staring at the bright glowing blade. “In all honesty, I’d love to see just how far we can go…” He slid his sword back into its scabbard. “But we have an important mission coming up. Until that’s finished, you’re a vital ally to me.” He raised an eyebrow as if to ask: _Get the picture?_  
The look on Akira’s face, a mixture of surprise, hurt, and disbelief, told him he did.  
Goro walked a few steps, stopping next to Akira. He turned his head to look at him, for once hoping he could see the metaphorical daggers shooting from his eyes. “…We’re done here,” he said darkly. “Let’s go.”  
He’d failed. But there would be a rematch, or his name wasn’t Akechi Goro. And it would end with him as the victor.  
And he’d squash Akira’s nasty habit, one way or the other.


	7. Chapter 7

Akechi and Akira stood in the Shibuya Station Square after the hardest fight of Akira’s life so far. He was still shaken up, physically, mentally, but mostly emotionally. Fighting Akechi had felt so wrong. At least to Akira. But he’d agreed to it, God only knows why. When Akechi had been egging him on to fight, Akira’s brain had been screaming at him to refuse. But Akechi’s steely gaze had been locked dead on him, and if Akechi had known what those eyes did to him he would have started the fight without even waiting for him to reply because there was no way Akira could say no.   
Once the fight had started, every hit he’d dealt had hurt himself more than Akechi. Hurting Akechi was always the last thing Akira ever wanted to do. But he had done it, and done it well. When he had felt the advantage tipping in his direction, he hadn’t known what to feel about it. This had been one fight where he hadn’t been sure if he’d wanted to win or lose, but he knew Akechi would have hated a false victory even more than an honest defeat. So Akira had fought Akechi and won. But… all for what?  
“Once again, I’ve learned something new about you today,” Akechi said. “As allies fighting alongside one another, your strength is truly reassuring. In all honesty, it’s to the point that _I’d_ be relying on _you_ in a pinch.”  
That made Akira feel a little bit better. A genuine compliment from Akechi always did. “The feeling’s mutual,” he replied.   
Akechi laughed. “You truly are well-composed,” he said warmly, a smile on his face.   
His mild tone of voice soothed Akira immensely, and he smiled back. This was what he liked to see. That smile, that laugh, that voice; they made everything better.  
Akechi reached up and adjusted his necktie. “I’m sorry I asked you to indulge me, but I do feel a bit better now.”  
 _Well, if that’s the case…_ Akira’s bad feeling was almost entirely gone. If he’d helped Akechi feel better in any way, then it had definitely been worth it. And now it was over. And Akechi was smiling at him.  
“By the way,” Akechi continued. “About that duel - if we had fought to the end, do you see yourself winning?”  
To the end? Akira was suddenly reminded of what Akechi had said just before they left Mementos. _“I’d love to see just how far we can go, but you’re a vital ally to me…”_ Was that _really_ what he meant? He pushed it out of his mind and decided to just answer his question. Well, he _had_ knocked Akechi down and would have been able to keep fighting himself. And Akechi would appreciate honesty. “Yes, I think so.”  
“I had a feeling you’d say that.” Akechi’s deep brown eyes were shining with their usual gleam that Akira saw so often and that made him feel so light inside. Akira couldn’t help smiling again. _Ohh, this boy,_ he thought to himself. _What bliss I feel when I’m with this boy._  
Akechi stood up straight and stiffened his shoulders. “I’m going to be entirely honest with you,” he said. “I hate you.”  
The smile fell off Akira’s face and shattered into a million pieces on the floor. He felt like he’d been punched in the gut - for the second time that evening - and his heart sank all the way to the soles of his shoes.   
“Your deft handling of your unfortunate circumstances, your uniqueness, your ability to surpass me-” Akechi continued in a voice dripping with malice. “All these irritate me. You’re the one person I refuse to lose to.”  
Akira barely heard what Akechi was saying. The words _“I hate you”_ were still ringing in his head. He felt tears beginning to brim in his eyes. If his willpower were any weaker, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from burying his face in his hands and starting to sob, right then and there. But he couldn’t let Akechi see that. Not under any circumstances. He blinked hard and bit his bottom lip to stop it from trembling. “You…” he began and gulped. “You really hate to lose that much, huh?”  
“Without a doubt,” Akechi replied resolutely. “Even I was unaware that it was this severe.”  
 _So was I._  
“I’ll let you have this win today - but next time, I will be victorious. Let this be my proof.” Akechi carefully tugged at each finger of his right glove and pulled it off and threw it at Akira. He caught it in surprise.  
“There’s a tradition in the West to throw one’s glove at their opponent when demanding a duel,” said Akechi. “Should the opponent accept the glove, the duel is also accepted.”  
Akira looked down at the glove in his hand and his heart felt like it was ripping in two. _No, no, no, this is all wrong!_ He loved Akechi. He loved him, and he wanted to tell him that. Take his gloved hand in his, brush his bangs away from his eyes, and tell him that he loved everything that made him, him. But Akechi hated him. He hated him. And he was going to make him do it again. The thing that had nearly destroyed him. And, if Akechi had his way, it would go even further than it had the first time. _Please… no,_ Akira begged silently. _I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to fight the person I love._  
The person he loved… It was then that Akira remembered something. Loki. Akechi may have been the person Akira loved, but he wasn’t the person he was supposed to love.   
He wasn’t his soulmate.   
Akira had known for a long time that he needed to come to terms with that eventually. But every time he was with Akechi, it always seemed to slip his mind. He always forgot that there was someone else he was meant to love, and he probably hadn’t even met them yet. And even if he decided to disregard his soulmate for Akechi, there was no way it would ever work out now. Akechi didn’t love him. He had just heard from his own mouth that he hated him.  
The person Akira was in love with wasn’t his soulmate, and didn’t even love him back. And he needed to get the hell over it.  
Akira closed his fist around Akechi’s glove. No time like the present.  
“I accept.”  
This next duel would end no differently from the one they had just finished.  
But, as long as Akira had anything to say about it, it still wouldn’t go any further than this one had either. He would make sure of that.


	8. Chapter 8

There was still a fair amount of time left before the deadline and before Goro’s plan went into action. So he bided his time, went to school, did detective work, and every night before he went to sleep he went over the plan from start to finish, from entering Sae’s Palace to leaving the interrogation room with Akira’s lifeless body inside, just to make extra certain he didn’t falter on the day of. Because, as of late, he had been thinking that that was a definite possibility.  
Goro was still wearing only one glove. He did have some spare pairs he could borrow one from, but he didn’t feel like it. It was a perpetual reminder of his promise with Akira, like a string tied around a finger.  
But still, something… didn’t feel right. Something about Akira’s eyes as he walked away after shoving his glove into his pocket. He had had an entirely different aura about him. Colder, more brittle. Goro knew he should have been glad that he accepted the duel so readily, but that was exactly what made him so uneasy now. He’d known Akira long enough to know that that was out of character for him.  
What was also out of character was the fact that Akira hadn’t contacted him for about a week now. No messages, no phone calls, no invitations to the jazz club or billiards or the like. And what’s more, he hadn’t responded to any of Goro’s attempts at communication either. Goro supposed it was somewhat understandable, considering what he had said to him the night they had fought in Mementos, but it still left him feeling somewhat destitute, jumping every time his phone buzzed only to find messages from Shido waiting for him. Not exactly someone he jumped for joy to talk to. And a slightly uncomfortable reminder of what was about to transpire.  
Goro had some time to spare one cloudy afternoon, and he didn’t feel like going to Kichijoji as he usually did, so he decided to go to Shibuya instead. He occupied his time walking up and down the Central Street and through the halls of the station, paying no attention, as he always did, to the excited whispers that caught his ear from behind him every now and then.  
By early evening, he began to feel hungry. Thoughts of his empty apartment were unappealing, so he stepped into the Shibuya diner to get a bite to eat.  
He could tell the hostess recognized him. “G-Good evening! Just one tonight?” she asked him, excitement and surprise gleaming behind her customer-service face.  
“That’s right,” Goro replied.  
“Alright then. Right this way.” The hostess led Goro to a booth, and he situated himself with a menu, nodding his thanks to the hostess as she left. As he scanned the menu absent-mindedly, something caught his attention. Not on the menu, but a familiar voice coming from somewhere nearby. He turned his head, trying to pinpoint the location, and, realizing it was coming from directly behind him, laid his menu down on the table and turned around to see Akira sitting in the booth behind him, bent over in front of the study materials spread out on the table, and Morgana, the source of the voice he had heard, offering advice from Akira’s bag.  
As if sensing someone’s gaze on him, Akira looked up and turned around as well. Their eyes met, and Goro felt like any words had been forcibly removed from his mouth.  
“Akechi!” said Morgana in surprise.  
Goro blinked and compelled himself to regain his composure. “Akira,” he smiled. “And Morgana. How unexpected to see you here.”  
“Likewise,” Akira replied dryly, without a hint of a smile on his face. It unnerved Goro.  
“Ah, you ordered the takoyaki? Excellent choice.” The dish next to Akira’s elbow had a few empty spaces where takoyaki had no doubt once been. “I’d ask to try one, but I’d be too nervous to after the last time I had one.”  
Morgana giggled at the reference to the “special” takoyaki served at the maid cafe at Shujin Academy’s school festival, but Akira’s face was still rigid.  
“Yeah. They’re good.”  
Still nothing? A joke usually never failed to elicit a smile from Akira. Not that that had been Goro’s intention.  
“So, what brings you here, Akechi?” Morgana asked.  
“Oh, you know,” Goro replied nonchalantly. “I just happened to find myself in the area wanting some dinner. I’ve heard this place serves an excellent steak. Oh-” Goro suddenly noticed the hostess leading a group in their direction. “Morgana, I think some people are about to be seated near us. If I were you, I would-”  
“Oh! Right!” Morgana quickly ducked inside Akira’s bag as the group approached and sat down in the booth across the aisle from Goro.  
And that left just Goro and Akira. Akira seemed as if he didn’t quite know where to look. The conversation hung in the air, unfinished, but never really started in the first place.  
Goro nodded at Akira’s various books and pens. “Hard at work, I see?” he asked to try and cut through the painful silence. “Finals are fast approaching. I applaud you for getting a head start on your studies. I expected nothing less from you. I’m certain you will do superbly.”  
The honest compliment slowly cracked Akira’s grim expression wide open into a brilliant, glowing smile.  
And all at once, the uncomfortable sensation in Goro’s chest eased.  
But then Akira seemed to catch himself and slide the grin off his face and the feeling returned.  
“Thanks.”  
Just then, a waitress approached Goro’s table, notepad in hand. “Are we ready over here?” she asked Goro.  
“Ah, not quite,” Goro responded. “I think I’ll need a few more minutes.”  
“No worries,” the waitress replied and took her leave.  
The silence was deafening once again. “Well,” Goro said finally. “I’ll leave you to your work then.”  
Akira nodded and turned back around without a word. Goro did the same and picked up his menu.  
From behind him, he heard the hushed voice of Morgana again. “Well, that wasn’t awkward at all,” he whispered from inside Akira’s bag. “What is up with you? Why were you being so standoffish?”  
Goro either didn’t hear Akira’s reply, or Akira had simply opted not to reply at all.  
Over his meal, Goro tried to sort through his thoughts. Just now, for the first time, Goro hadn’t known what to say to Akira. Although he was seated right behind him, it felt like he was a million miles away. His sudden shift to this unresponsive, frigid character who now sat behind him had thoroughly shattered any last remnant of normalcy and familiarity in Goro. Now there was nothing left for him to go back to.  
From behind him, Goro heard Akira stand up and heard the rustling of papers as Akira put away his study materials. As Akira walked past his table, his bag with Morgana inside over his shoulder, heading for the door, Goro looked up, expecting to catch Akira’s eye and give a nod of acknowledgement and goodbye, but Akira kept his gaze fixed straight ahead as if Goro weren’t even there.  
Good. It was better this way. It would make what Goro was about to do easier. And Goro was just fine with that. This was exactly how it needed to be.  
Even so, although he had enjoyed a delicious meal, Goro left the restaurant somehow feeling even emptier than when he had entered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “But the diner doesn’t serve takoyaki-” “SHHHHHHH”
> 
> Next chapter is reeeeeally long. Prepare yourself. lol


	9. Chapter 9

It was the next day, and Akira was feeling agitated. And not because the deadline was closing in. Seeing Akechi at the diner had both torn at his heart and set a fire under it. Sure, it stung now, but Akira had no choice but to pull himself together. Seeing Akechi act as if nothing was out of the ordinary had made him restless. One last victory over him would set everything straight.  
Akira closed up Leblanc, flipping the sign on the door outside to the “Closed” side. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and messaged Akechi for the first time in several days.  
“Ready for our rematch?”  
Goro jumped when his phone buzzed and practically lunged for it. And this time, he wasn’t disappointed when he saw the sender of the text he’d just received. He felt his heart beat faster as he read Akira’s message, startled at how seriously he was taking their agreement. He kicked himself for getting so excited, took a deep breath, and typed a response. “Now? Are you sure it’s a good time?”  
Akechi’s promptness surprised Akira. “Yeah.” he replied. “It’ll be good to get it in before the deadline.” That was the largest hint he’d ever dropped that he was well aware of what Akechi was planning. But he didn’t really care about that right now.  
This wasn’t what Goro had been expecting, but he wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea. And he was glad that Akira had been the one to bring it up again, although it still disconcerted him somewhat. “Alright. I’ll be waiting in Shibuya then.”  
“See you there.”  
“Rematch?” Akira had forgotten that Morgana was right over his shoulder. “What are you talking about?”  
“Don’t worry about it.” Akira lifted Morgana out of his bag with one hand and set him on the ground, giving him a little push. “Go on. Go… do whatever. I’ll be back later.”  
Morgana up at Akira warily. “Okay…”  
Akira began to head off down the street in the direction of the train station.  
“Be careful, Akira,” he heard Morgana call from behind him.  
He didn’t look back.

He found Akechi in the Shibuya Station Square, briefcase in ungloved hand. He looked up when he heard him approach. “Ready?” was all he said.  
Akira nodded. “Ready.”  
With a few hasty glances to make sure no one was around, the two entered Mementos and transformed into their Metaverse attire. Akechi’s right glove was still missing. Akira reached into his pocket and found it still tucked away there.  
Goro couldn’t prevent himself from stealing a glance at Akira as they walked in silence to find a place to duel. Could this be some sort of trap he was walking right into? The stern expression on Akira’s face told him no. Which just made it all the more confusing. This was still so out of character for Akira. But why was Goro complaining?  
_I’m not ready for this,_ Akira thought to himself as he walked, staring straight ahead. How did he both want and not want to do this at the same time? Beating Akechi again would be satisfying, sure, but he still felt that twinge of discomfort that what was happening was just not right that he had felt the first time they had faced each other. But he knew that this was the best way for things to go, considering all the circumstances. And, somehow, he got the feeling that Akechi was thinking the same thing.  
They reached an area similar to the one in which they had last fought and each wordlessly walked to either side and faced the other.  
Akira drew his dagger and twirled it in his hand, a habitual motion he always made before battle while sizing up his opponent. But, again, it was _Akechi_ that was his opponent. He told the outraged voice in his head to be quiet and tried to put on an air of confidence. “Ready to lose?” he asked Akechi.  
Goro grinned. Direct antagonism from the person he wanted to hear it from the most. Never mind the fact that that attitude was completely unbefitting of Akira. This was what got him going. “Never.”  
And the fight resumed.  
Goro didn’t even wait for Akira. He’d learned his lesson. Akira wouldn’t catch him off guard again. He attacked right away, but not quite at full force. He wasn’t going to tire himself out like he did last time. That had been Goro’s mistake. He’d let himself get carried away. This time, every move he made would be powerful, yet calculated and precise. However, he couldn’t help feeling the pressure rising inside him as he started to get riled up by the battle, and the part of him that warned himself not to overdo it was slowly getting overpowered by the sheer frustration and resentment towards Akira that always lurked at the back of Goro’s mind, but resurfaced at times like this.  
Akechi might not have been attacking at full force, but Akira sure felt it like it was at full force. The first hit nearly knocked him down right then and there. He usually never had a problem taking hits even stronger than the ones Akechi was dealing, but his blows had an extra weight to them, and it was the words _“I hate you”_ that Akira could practically hear every time a blow connected with his body. And it still just didn’t feel right, trying to attack Akechi.  
It might have just been Akira’s imagination, but it seemed like Akechi’s expression almost cracked minisculely with every swing of his laser sword or magical attack from Robin Hood. A teeth-gritted scowl, a furious brow, a fiery eye would escape every now and then before being swallowed by Akechi’s customary unflappable demeanor. He had seen this in their first fight, and had been completely bewildered as to why it kept happening and what Akechi was really thinking. Now he didn’t have to wonder. He knew what Akechi was thinking. And it was making it harder and harder for him to keep standing.  
Goro was trying to ignore how quickly Akira’s strength was deteriorating. He was doing it, wasn’t he? He was beating Kurusu Akira, exactly what he’d planned to do the first time he’d coerced him into a duel. He’d lost then, but this time, even though the fight had been at Akira’s invitation, he was winning, quickly and easily. Goro could tell. Akira’s blows, weak to begin with, were growing even weaker as the fight wore on, and he could see his legs shaking and his body swaying with every strike Goro gave. Goro’s victory was near. He was finally about to prove that he was strong and Akira was weak, that he was important and Akira was worthless, just like he’d wanted to since the beginning. Seeing Akira’s confident and fearless face turn exhausted and battle-bruised at his hand was what Goro had been looking forward to for a long time, and he’d pictured it in his head more times than he could count. So why wasn’t seeing it in person satisfying in the slightest?  
Akira was surprised when Akechi lowered his sword from its raised stance. “Give up,” he said in a firm voice. “You’ve lost.”  
“I’m still standing, aren’t I?” Akira argued, although it was just barely true. He didn’t even have enough strength left to summon his Persona. Still, far be it from him to just lie down and lose, especially now. He tightened his grip on his dagger. “I’m not quitting that easily. You didn’t, so why should I?”  
Goro scowled inwardly at that last remark. _Obnoxious little-_ He shrugged. “If you say so.” One good hit should do it. Maybe not even that. _Too_ good of a hit might even be too much. He summoned Robin Hood and readied an attack. _Just enough to knock him down…_  
A large form was suddenly visible behind Akira. Goro gasped. A Shadow, and a powerful one at that, glowing with a red aura and quickly closing in on the scarcely upright Akira, ready to deliver a strike even more powerful than the one Goro was about to. Panic seized his entire being. “Akira!” he screamed. “Look out!”  
“Huh?” Akira’s groggy brain was slow to react to Akechi’s cry. He turned around to see the large looming mass behind him. All he could do was stand agape. Until he heard pounding footsteps and turned just in time to see Akechi run at him at full speed and shove him aside. He fell to the floor with a thud and looked up at Akechi in pure shock.  
Goro didn’t waste a second. “Persona!” he yelled frenziedly, and a Persona came. But it wasn’t Robin Hood. It wasn’t even Loki. It was a tall, lean figure, bearing a red jacket and boots, a tall black hat, and large feathery black wings, that Goro had never seen before. Even so, as had been the case when Goro had awakened to his own two Personas, he knew the name in his heart, and he shouted it now.  
“Go, Arsène!”  
Akira was struck absolutely speechless as Akechi fought the Shadow with his own Persona, that he himself had not seen in quite some time. The feeling he was experiencing was unlike anything he had felt before, but was still familiar at the same time. It was similar to the sensation of power coursing through his veins and rebellion standing firm in his soul that he had felt when he’d first called Arsène to him, combined with the warm glow of longing and tenderness he felt in his chest whenever he locked eyes with Goro. And both of these feelings were intertwining and reaching out, out, from Akira’s heart directly to Goro’s.  
As he fought, Goro knew that Akira must be feeling exactly what he’d felt when he’d watched him summon Loki from the stands of the arena. And now he was feeling what Akira must have felt at that time: like he was ready to take on anything with his soulmate’s power by his side, the unconditional support and loyalty filling him from top to bottom. And Goro found himself welcoming it in spite of himself. But, as the Shadow disintegrated into a pile of dust and Arsène faded away, so too did the warmth flooding through him, and he whipped around to see Akira still on the floor with a look of disbelief on his face.  
Akira could barely speak. “I-” he managed to force out. “You - how?”  
Now that he had come back to his senses, Goro was furious - at both himself and Akira - and his demeanor changed in a flash. There was no point in hiding it now. “Oh, you want how?” he growled. “I’ll fucking show you how!” A maniacal laugh erupted from within him, a laugh that always meant Loki wasn’t far away. “Why don’t I show you who I really am, and you can look and see for yourself!” The bloodthirsty grin that always accompanied his black mask spread across his face. “Come!” he screamed. “Loki!”  
In an instant, Goro’s red and white costume melted away, revealing his black and blue outfit and his other Persona, his _real_ Persona, Loki. Akira recognized him at once. He stared at him, still on the floor, and Loki stared back, floating a few feet above and behind Goro, his legs crossed, resting his chin in his hand.  
“Take a good look,” Goro snarled. “You’re not the only one around here with that special little wild card ability. And you can take it from me, that’s not the only thing I’ve been hiding, not by a long shot.”  
Akira was still at a loss for words. “I can’t believe it.” It was really true? The thing he had been sure was impossible for so long? Was this too good to be real?  
“Well, believe it!” Goro barked. Akira didn’t need to rub it in that this was such a drastic transformation, and the complete opposite of what he had known of Goro up until now. “It doesn’t make a difference anyway!” It miffed him that he was still wearing his left glove. He adjusted the metallic fingers of it with his right hand.  
“We - we’re soulmates!” Akira exclaimed, more to himself than to Goro. It had finally registered in his brain.  
“And what of it?!” Goro snapped.  
“Goro-” Akira staggered to his feet.  
Goro stiffened. Akira had never used his first name before. “No. You shut your mouth. I have worked too hard for too long to get to where I am now, and-”  
Akira couldn’t hold back the words any longer. He took off his mask and threw it onto the floor. “I love you, Goro!”  
Goro nearly choked. _“What?”_ he sputtered. Loki dematerialized and Goro’s black mask appeared, nearly covering his entire face.  
Akira did his best to look Goro in the eyes through the thin slits in his mask. He’d never anticipated that he would get the chance to say this, but now that he had it, he wasn’t going to pass it up. “I’m in love with you.”  
“No you’re not!” Goro exploded. “If you’re in love with anything, you’re in love with the phony act I’ve been showing everyone this whole time. _That’s_ the one everyone’s in love with.” He spread his arms wide, indicating himself in his true form. “Everything you’ve ever known of me has been a lie! You never even knew that this was what I was! You never even knew that I’ve been planning to betray you this entire time!”  
“Goro-” Akira began, but Goro continued raging.  
“The whole plan to infiltrate Niijima’s Palace is a trap! I lured you and your idiotic friends right into it and you never suspected me for a second!”  
“Goro…”  
“I’m the one behind the mental shutdowns! And the psychotic breakdowns! I killed Isshiki Wakaba! I killed Okumura Kunikazu! And I did it all for my own personal gain!”  
“Goro,” Akira said gently. “I know.”  
Goro stopped in his tracks. “You… you know?” he asked in disbelief.  
Akira nodded.  
“How?!”  
Akira smiled bittersweetly. “Pancakes.”  
“And what is that supposed to mean?”  
“At the TV station. You said you heard us mention pancakes. But the only one who said that was Morgana. Meaning you had already been to the Metaverse and heard him talk.”  
Goro let out a shriek of rage. “God fucking damn it!” He drew his sword, which now had a red, serrated blade, and began to slash violently at the air.  
“So we knew you were spying on us and lying to us,” Akira continued calmly. “And we knew you had something up your sleeve when you approached us with the plan to infiltrate Sae’s Palace. So, through a little digging…” Akira sighed. “Long story short, we know your entire plan. And we know how to make it fail. You wouldn’t have succeeded.”  
Goro just stared at him for a second. “So, then,” he said coldly. “I suppose you are of the belief that we are at a stalemate.”  
“That seems to be the case.”  
Goro howled with laughter. “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?!” With that, Goro flew at Akira, tackling him to the ground. Akira, still weakened, went down like a bowling pin. Goro pinned him down with a foot on his chest and his sword pointed directly at his neck, looking down at him with a malevolent smirk and leaving him gasping for breath.  
“Some stalemate, huh, Akira?” said Goro. “I’ve got you at my mercy. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right here and now. It would save me a lot of trouble.”  
Akira looked up and into Goro’s eyes. There was only one thing he could think to say. And, if what he knew about Goro was true, it was something he needed to hear. He let out a strangled cough. “I love you.”  
Goro’s laughter devolved into an uncontrollable cackle. “Wait, wait, wait,” he said between fits of laughter. “This is just rich! You mean to tell me that you’re aware that I’ve been lying to you since we met, you’ve known that I’ve been planning to betray you this whole time, and even now I have you within an inch of your life with a blade to your throat and you still claim to be in love with me?!”  
That about summed it up, as crazy as it was. “That - yeah, you got it.”  
“That’s _impossible!_ ” Goro howled, and he pressed his foot down harder on Akira’s chest, the tip of his sword grazing his neck. “You are lying to me to make me let my guard down. But it won’t work.”  
Akira tried to sit up, but Goro’s sword wouldn’t let him move. “I’m not lying, Goro,” he said. “I fell in love with you the moment we met and I’ve loved you ever since.”  
Goro seethed behind his mask. He knew Akira well enough to be able to tell when he was being honest, and the pure sincerity and transparency that was always visible on his face when he was telling the absolute truth was present now. Goro was beginning to breathe hard. He threw his sword across the room as hard as he could before he did something he would regret and leaned in close to Akira’s face.  
“Didn’t you hear me the first time?” he hissed. “I _said_ that’s _impossible._ There is no _way_ that you could love me.”  
“Why do you say that?”  
Goro froze.  
“Take off that mask. I want to see your face.”  
Goro stepped back and pulled his helmet off his head. His expression was unlike anything Akira had ever seen before: a strange look of resentment and confliction. Akira got shakily to his feet and waited silently for a response.  
“I am under no obligation to answer that question,” Goro declared. “But I don’t see any reason to hide the answer from you. So I’ll humor you.”  
“Thank you,” nodded Akira. “So?” he asked. “Why do you wrongly think that it’s impossible for me to love you?”  
Goro exhaled in annoyance. “I don’t even see how it needs explaining,” he huffed. He gestured at himself, his face full of rage, his dark costume, his black, threatening mask. “Just look at me! This isn’t what the world wants to see! This isn’t what _anyone_ wants to see! Who could ever love this?”  
“I could,” Akira said truthfully. “I do.”  
Goro scowled. “No, no, no. Don’t give me that. I’ve been unlovable and unwanted since the moment I was born, and only by pretending to be something I’m not could I get anyone to want me around. You’re no different. Stop trying to pretend you are.” He threw his helmet to the floor with a clank and kicked it aside, leveling a finger at Akira. “You really think you love me? I’ll show you how wrong you are.” His voice shook slightly as he listed off the reasons why his frantic heartbeat as he looked into Akira’s eyes was being wasted on him. “I am vicious, ruthless, and heartless. I am capable of so much more cruelty than you can even imagine.”  
“I don’t think that’s-” Akira began, but Goro interrupted him.  
“I’m not finished.” It wouldn’t feel right if Akira didn’t know all the reasons. It just wouldn’t. “There’s only one way for someone like me to trick anyone into liking him, and it’s being deceitful and conniving and manipulative. And that’s what I am doing and what I have been doing for years. I have lied. I have cheated. I have spied. I have earned people’s trust just to stab them in the back. I have killed people. All in an effort to become powerful, respected, and - and wanted.”  
Akira knew all this. But it made him sad, that Goro thought that this was what was necessary for him to earn even the time of day. “That doesn’t make you unlovable,” he said. “You are worthy of love, Goro. And I want to give it to you.”  
“Bullshit,” Goro growled. “I’ve done nothing to deserve anyone’s love, least of all yours.”  
“You _do_ deserve it,” Akira insisted. “I know you do.”  
“How?! How do you know?!”  
“Because I’ve seen your heart. All of it. We’re soulmates, remember? I meant what I said earlier about what I think of Loki. Do you not trust me?”  
“Trust you? I don’t trust anybody! I trust and care for no one but myself.”  
Akira tried so hard to keep his head and focus on Goro’s feelings instead of his own, but at that last comment, he couldn’t stop himself from asking: “Really? Do you really… not care about me at all?”  
Goro puffed up in indignation. Even after all that, Akira’s only concern was still what Goro thought of him? “Gaaah!” He clutched his head in frustration. Goro didn’t want to tell Akira the truthful answer to his question, even though it was, conflictingly, one of the things in his life that Goro was the most sure of. “This is what makes this so hard! Because I could have disposed of you long ago. But I chose not to.”  
“Why?” Akira asked. Goro ignored him.  
“It was supposed to be easy,” he said, taking slow steps towards Akira. “You were just another bump in the road, another thorn in my side. Removing you from the equation was supposed to be a walk in the park for someone like me. And then you had to go and do what you do best and make that difficult. And now I hate you.” He hadn’t wanted to say that again. The words felt like cold nasty slugs coming out of his mouth. The tension in his voice rose and his lip quivered as he managed to spit it out yet again. “I hate you. And I don’t understand why.”  
Akira didn’t move as Goro approached him, and soon the two were mere inches apart from each other. “I don’t understand either,” said Akira, wincing from hearing the words he’d dreaded be repeated. “We’re so similar in so many ways. We enjoy spending time together and we make each other better. I know this, you know this. So why do we have to be enemies? Why do we have to fight each other?”  
“You know perfectly well why,” Goro spat, not denying anything Akira had said, Akira noticed. “As I was saying before when you so rudely interrupted me, I have worked too hard for too long to get to where I am now. And I’m not about to just give it all up for the likes of you.” Though goodness knows a part of himself wanted to. It was only a matter of squashing that part of him down and keeping it silent.  
“You know what I’d planned on doing?” Goro asked. “I’d planned on shooting you dead. I’d planned on putting a gun to your head, looking you right in the eyes, and pulling the god damn trigger and relishing every second of it.” Goro was trying to sound menacing, but saying it out loud was making his eyes sting. “But I can’t do that now. And it’s all your fault.”  
It was like a knife had been plunged into Akira’s heart. “You really want to kill me that much?” he asked despondently. “You’re that upset that I figured out your plan?”  
“That’s not what I mean, you idiot,” Goro shot back. He could feel his control over the mental block that made him bite his tongue to keep from telling Akira everything slipping away, and he was helpless to stop it. How did Akira do this to him? “I mean that even before tonight I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do it.”  
“I don’t understand.”  
“Do I have to spell it out for you? What I mean is that there’s one thing I’ve never lied to you about. You really are the most interesting person I’ve ever met in my life. I’ve never been bored a single second that I’ve spent with you. You’ve been the best part of my day ever since we met.”  
Goro was amazed at the words pouring out of his own mouth. And they were all true. He’d never imagined himself telling Akira these things, not in a million years. He laughed incredulously at himself. “You want to know why I’m telling you all this all of a sudden?” he asked. “It’s because you’re the one person I can be honest with! I never feel more like myself than when I’m with you! And so I’ve always been worried that when the time finally came for me to eliminate you, I wouldn’t be able to make myself pull the trigger.”  
“You don’t have to do that,” Akira pleaded. “You’ve never had to do that.”  
“No! You don’t understand!” Goro cried. “I’ve known I’ve had to since the beginning. That’s why I wanted to duel you. No - I _needed_ to duel you.” His heart was beating wildly and his voice was becoming frantic, like he knew he had to say these things before he stopped himself, before it was too late. “I needed to beat you to prove to myself that you were just an insignificant piece of trash who wasn’t worth caring about. I - I needed to prove I was better than you so killing you wouldn’t completely destroy me!”  
Goro sighed, his hands clenched in fists of rage. “But I failed at that too. Twice.”  
“Twice?” Akira asked, confused. “You beat me this time, fair and square.”  
“But it doesn’t make a difference!” Goro wailed in anguish. “I’m still stuck! I’m still stuck on you! I still don’t know how I’m supposed to do it! How am I supposed to kill the one person who makes me feel alive?!”  
And with that, Goro finally crumbled. The last support inside of him snapped and he collapsed to his knees. “I can’t,” he said defeatedly, looking down at the ground in front of him. “I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to kill the person I love.”  
Goro’s gaze was lifted from the ground by Akira’s strong hand under his chin that tilted his head up to meet his eyes. He was kneeling on the ground in front of Goro, looking deep into his eyes with the softest, yet most earnest expression Goro had ever seen. “What do you want?”  
“I want you,” Goro said resolutely. “I want you so much. And I desperately want you to want me too.”  
Without a word, Akira leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Goro. Goro did the same, and the two clung to each other for dear life. And when they spoke, the words rolled off their tongues.  
“I want you, Goro.”  
“Don’t you dare let go of me.”  
“I won’t.”  
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”  
“I feel the same way about you.”  
“Don’t let go.”  
“I’m not going anywhere.”  
“Neither am I.”  
“I love you so much.”  
“I love you too.”  
As soon as those words left his mouth, Goro felt tears welling up in his eyes. He’d done it. He’d said it. He clutched at Akira tighter, grabbing handfuls of his jacket and burying his face in his neck. “I love you,” he said again, and it felt good to admit it this time. “I love you, Akira.”  
Akira was nearly crying himself. He thought he’d go to the grave with his feelings for Goro. But now Goro was returning those very feelings while Akira held him tight in his arms. He cradled Goro’s head with his hand, his fingers combing through his hair. Feeling it, a small sigh of contentment escaped Goro’s lungs. And that finally caused the tears to start spilling out of Akira’s eyes. He pulled Goro even closer to him, his body shaking with small sobs. Goro couldn’t hear it, but he could feel it, and it sent his tears pouring down his face too.  
After a few moments of silent sobs, the two, almost at the exact same time, pulled their heads back to look at each other. They each laughed quietly at the other’s tear-stained face, Neither had seen the other cry before.  
“Are you okay?” Akira asked.  
Goro nodded, blinking hard and causing a few more tears to roll down his cheek. “I’m alright. Are you?”  
Akira lifted a hand and placed it on Goro’s face, gently wiping the tears away with his thumb. “Never better.”  
Goro smiled, took a deep, shaky breath and stood up. Akira tried to follow, but lost his balance and fell back down again. He was still completely out of energy from the fight. “Ooh,” he groaned. “Maybe I spoke too soon.”  
Goro had forgotten how badly he’d hurt Akira. He looked down at him and, seeing his exhausted face, felt a pang of regret stab his heart. He held out his hand. Akira took it and Goro pulled him to his feet. “I’m sorry,” he said contritely, still holding Akira’s hand.  
Akira smiled. “Thank you. No hard feelings.”  
Goro smiled back, shaking his head. _I still don’t know what I did to deserve you,_ he thought to himself. Just then, he noticed that Akira’s smile had grown wider and he was looking him up and down.  
“What?”  
“You look good in black.”

A few moments later, Goro and Akira left Mementos and reverted back to their street clothes. Neither wanted to go home just yet, so they lingered in front of the stairs in the Shibuya station square.  
“You are aware that I’ll be dropping the ‘good boy’ routine with you now, right?” Goro asked.  
“Of course,” said Akira. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”  
Half of Goro’s mouth curled up into a smile. “I’m pleased to hear you say that.”  
This was the first that Akira had seen of that smile of Goro’s, but he immediately decided it was his favorite. “So…” he began slowly. “Will you let me be on your side now?”  
“How do you mean?”  
“Well, we’ve been competing for so long and… I want to stop. I never wanted to start in the first place.”  
Goro thought for a moment. “Hmm. No more competition ever? Is that what you’re proposing?”  
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Akira said quickly. “I don’t think we’ll ever stop seeing who can stay in the bath longer and racing each other to get dressed first afterwards, or trying to one-up each other in billiards or Gun About. But for the important things, the things that really matter, I want us to stand next to each other, not opposite each other.” He brushed his bangs out of his eyes. “Does that sound alright to you?”  
Now Goro understood where the sensation of pure unconditional support and loyalty he had felt when he summoned Arsène had come from. He smiled. “I think I’d like that.”  
Akira smiled back. “Good.”  
Although the chilly evening wind blew around them, both Goro and Akira felt warm inside.  
“Then…” said Akira, reaching into his pocket. “I think I should return this to you.” He pulled out Goro’s black leather glove.  
Goro’s eyebrows raised. “You had that with you?” He put down his briefcase and stepped closer to Akira.  
“I’ve been carrying it with me ever since you gave it to me.” Goro held out his left hand, but instead of handing him the glove, Akira took Goro’s bare right hand in his. Goro was taken by surprise, but said nothing as Akira slowly, carefully, gently slipped the glove onto Goro’s hand. The tender gesture instantly unwound the last bit of remaining tension inside Goro, and he melted completely. “There,” Akira whispered. He looked up to see that Goro was looking at him, no smile on his face, but stars in his eyes. “Better?” Akira asked quietly.  
Goro didn’t speak. He simply threw his arms around Akira and kissed him. Akira wrapped his arms around Goro’s waist, pulling him close and kissing him back. They held each other tight, and both felt like they could stay that way forever. It was the best feeling in the world, to love and be loved when both had thought it impossible for so long. And they never wanted it to end.  
Kurusu Akira and Akechi Goro were soulmates. And they were in it together now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who caught the symbolism? Let me know! Hope you like how this turned out. I sure do. :)


End file.
